More toil awaited the South Africa A bowlers as Rohit Sharma, unbeaten on 70 overnight, scored his 16th first-class century and shared a 106-run stand with Suresh Raina to power India A past 500. India A's lower order then frustrated South Africa A before the visitors declared their innings at 582 for 9. South Africa were further hampered by the loss of Reeza Hendricks two overs before close of play.

The morning session began with Raina and Rohit playing out six consecutive maidens, but things changed rapidly in the 99th over when Rohit pulled Andrew Birch over the boundary line and Raina helped himself to two successive fours on the off side.

Unlike the one set at the start of the day, this scoring trend continued, capping off with Rohit stroking his 12th four, through the covers, to bring up his century. Raina celebrated his fifty soon after with a cut that found the boundary for four.

South Africa gained some respite after lunch, when Duminy had Rohit caught by Temba Bavuma at short leg. Ajinkya Rahane, another contender eyeing a slot in the senior side, struck two fours but became Duminy's second victim on the stroke of drinks. Wriddhiman Saha followed suit, falling to the Bavuma-Duminy combine as India went from 376 for 3 to 418 for 6.

However, Raina held firm, with a brisk Ishwar Pandey, for company and India A racked up 79 runs off 74 balls to reach 500. Raina brought up a vital century, his 12th in first-class cricket, and with the landmark behind him, tore into Duminy, slugging him for 19 runs in the 143rd over.

His wicket, eight balls after tea, ushered two more dismissals as India slipped to 500 for 9. An enterprising 82-run stand between No. 10 and 11, Jaydev Unadkat and Shahbaz Nadeem looked good to push India past 600, but Pujara chose to declare at 582 to have a few overs at the South African openers. The decision proved profitable as Hendricks nicked Unadkat to the keeper in the seventh over, two overs before close of play.

Rohit credited the time he spent in the middle to be more beneficial than his final score. "I'm happy that I played close to 250 balls," he said "Rather than getting 119, I feel facing that amount of balls was important.

"It was a crucial phase of the game when I went in and it was important that I stay in because we didn't want to lose any more wickets. I wanted to prove a point to myself, and nobody else, that I could battle out the situation if needed. In that process I didn't play my natural game, which normally includes a lot of shots."

Duminy conceded the new ball was doing a bit, but was hopeful of his side seeing it off and cashing in with the older ball.

"Conditions become easier to bat the longer you stay in but there is a little bit in it for the new ball," Duminy said. "It's quite an abrasive field so if you get past the new ball phase the ball gets old quite quickly and becomes flat. Hopefully we will be able to cash in on that."

"There is a little bit of help for the spinners," he added. "I think it is obviously because of the rough the seamers have created, which brings the offspinners into play."

Good call by the BCCI to hold these matches and give so many young and fringe players a chance to develop. For all the criticism they have copped in the recent and medium past, they (and possibly the ECB), are the only Boards with sufficient structure in place to develop young players and manage future transitions. Unlike the ACB and possibly the Carribean cricket boards, they still place tremendous importance on domestic first class competitions, and they have the courage to continue persisting with players to allow them sufficient time to develop at the top level (case in point Virat Kohli). The senior team is still lacking one or two quality pacemen/seamers, but it's promising to see all the right steps being taken to find him. Bravo!

MrRajkamal
on August 19, 2013, 16:58 GMT

Is it fair to call these team as an A team? I am curious because I am not aware of the technical criteria that goes behind calling a particular set of team as A, B or C. But I felt it is unfair because atleast 6 players who has been part of the Indian test team in the last one year are playing. 7 if we remove the 1 year filter.

IndianCoolGuy
on August 19, 2013, 16:44 GMT

@Aryav Jain : DK is a better player than Rohit and Raina ?? Good joke buddy.

mahi678
on August 19, 2013, 16:41 GMT

@spot_on, u r spot on w.r.t to murali vijay. he is one of good openers in india. but very few openers had survived in internatonal level. this may be because opening in indian conditions to indian bowlers is different from facing quality international bowlers. yes he is good opener but its difficult to produce same in international level. if he survives then its a difficult situation for some one like rohit and rahane.

on other hand both rohit nd rahane played so well in FC cricket so chances there for one of them to sneak in the team any way.

mahi678
on August 19, 2013, 16:14 GMT

the performance of raina reminds me of sehwag. i think sehwag has the ability to become all rounder. sehwag started his career as all rounder.

He was promoted as opener where he become fearsome hitter. ths is where exatly caused his downfall later in his career. His performances become crutial for india as opener and he opted to stay out of bowling. his body gradually becoming stiff as he has no longer be so atlete. he doesnt need much running- which caused him fitness problems. at last he lost his place in team. great sehwag career ends.

perhaps if he stays in middle order, he would concentrate on both bowling and batting; which makes him fit for long. his true nature is allrounder not the opening batsman.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:46 GMT

Surprised to exclusion of dinesh karthik . He is a better test batsman in comparison to Rohit & Raina & recently in good form . He can open for india , a good player under swinging conditions, plays short ball well, better keeping abilities than dhoni
flat track centuries from rohit,raina is anybody cup of tea against a weak opposition. He{Karthik} is a patience player unlike raina & rohit both have tendency of taking risks if runs are hard to come by. Ajinkya rahane could have been promoted up in the order. IC pandey could be handy in SA.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:39 GMT

India may NOT enforce the follow-on. May wish to give another chance for batting practice to Vijay, Dhawan, Rahane & Saha. With Duncan being there, if there is a trade off between trying to get a win for the A-team Vs potential practice for a few 'batting candidates' for the regular tour, the practice motive may win.

Difficulties in getting 12 wickets tomorrow could be a second reason. Not risking injury to bowlers like Shami, Pndey & Unadkat could be third reason.

spot_on
on August 19, 2013, 15:23 GMT

I doubt Rohit will ever make into India test team. Vijay is a classic test material. He got his technique rubbished cuz of IPL. Nevertheless he is a player who has a solid technique to open at the top. His average of about 40 is neat considering the fact that he had to open the innings. The guy can play an anchoring role, but for Rohit. I doubt if he can ever place an innings.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:22 GMT

Re: Spin Attack of India: As long as Raina & Jadeja continue to take wickets, only Ashwin will get a chance to be in the Indian Playing XI, as a spinner. Only, if Ashwin is not available for any reason, Mishra will get a chance. All other regular spinnes are far behind. (Including the much hyped Rasool. I was part of the cacophany crying out loud for trying out Rasool)

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:15 GMT

The 6th, 7th & 8th pair adding almost 200 runs, when the top 5 could make just 119 is really praiseworthy. Duminy played the key role in that fightback. Good show, Duminy!

Of course, as I said in an earlier post, it is also symptomatic of India's problem with the bottom half... of almost any opposition! (There were a few exceptions; but by definition exceptions rae exceptions!)

cricket_ahan
on August 19, 2013, 23:35 GMT

Good call by the BCCI to hold these matches and give so many young and fringe players a chance to develop. For all the criticism they have copped in the recent and medium past, they (and possibly the ECB), are the only Boards with sufficient structure in place to develop young players and manage future transitions. Unlike the ACB and possibly the Carribean cricket boards, they still place tremendous importance on domestic first class competitions, and they have the courage to continue persisting with players to allow them sufficient time to develop at the top level (case in point Virat Kohli). The senior team is still lacking one or two quality pacemen/seamers, but it's promising to see all the right steps being taken to find him. Bravo!

MrRajkamal
on August 19, 2013, 16:58 GMT

Is it fair to call these team as an A team? I am curious because I am not aware of the technical criteria that goes behind calling a particular set of team as A, B or C. But I felt it is unfair because atleast 6 players who has been part of the Indian test team in the last one year are playing. 7 if we remove the 1 year filter.

IndianCoolGuy
on August 19, 2013, 16:44 GMT

@Aryav Jain : DK is a better player than Rohit and Raina ?? Good joke buddy.

mahi678
on August 19, 2013, 16:41 GMT

@spot_on, u r spot on w.r.t to murali vijay. he is one of good openers in india. but very few openers had survived in internatonal level. this may be because opening in indian conditions to indian bowlers is different from facing quality international bowlers. yes he is good opener but its difficult to produce same in international level. if he survives then its a difficult situation for some one like rohit and rahane.

on other hand both rohit nd rahane played so well in FC cricket so chances there for one of them to sneak in the team any way.

mahi678
on August 19, 2013, 16:14 GMT

the performance of raina reminds me of sehwag. i think sehwag has the ability to become all rounder. sehwag started his career as all rounder.

He was promoted as opener where he become fearsome hitter. ths is where exatly caused his downfall later in his career. His performances become crutial for india as opener and he opted to stay out of bowling. his body gradually becoming stiff as he has no longer be so atlete. he doesnt need much running- which caused him fitness problems. at last he lost his place in team. great sehwag career ends.

perhaps if he stays in middle order, he would concentrate on both bowling and batting; which makes him fit for long. his true nature is allrounder not the opening batsman.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:46 GMT

Surprised to exclusion of dinesh karthik . He is a better test batsman in comparison to Rohit & Raina & recently in good form . He can open for india , a good player under swinging conditions, plays short ball well, better keeping abilities than dhoni
flat track centuries from rohit,raina is anybody cup of tea against a weak opposition. He{Karthik} is a patience player unlike raina & rohit both have tendency of taking risks if runs are hard to come by. Ajinkya rahane could have been promoted up in the order. IC pandey could be handy in SA.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:39 GMT

India may NOT enforce the follow-on. May wish to give another chance for batting practice to Vijay, Dhawan, Rahane & Saha. With Duncan being there, if there is a trade off between trying to get a win for the A-team Vs potential practice for a few 'batting candidates' for the regular tour, the practice motive may win.

Difficulties in getting 12 wickets tomorrow could be a second reason. Not risking injury to bowlers like Shami, Pndey & Unadkat could be third reason.

spot_on
on August 19, 2013, 15:23 GMT

I doubt Rohit will ever make into India test team. Vijay is a classic test material. He got his technique rubbished cuz of IPL. Nevertheless he is a player who has a solid technique to open at the top. His average of about 40 is neat considering the fact that he had to open the innings. The guy can play an anchoring role, but for Rohit. I doubt if he can ever place an innings.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:22 GMT

Re: Spin Attack of India: As long as Raina & Jadeja continue to take wickets, only Ashwin will get a chance to be in the Indian Playing XI, as a spinner. Only, if Ashwin is not available for any reason, Mishra will get a chance. All other regular spinnes are far behind. (Including the much hyped Rasool. I was part of the cacophany crying out loud for trying out Rasool)

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:15 GMT

The 6th, 7th & 8th pair adding almost 200 runs, when the top 5 could make just 119 is really praiseworthy. Duminy played the key role in that fightback. Good show, Duminy!

Of course, as I said in an earlier post, it is also symptomatic of India's problem with the bottom half... of almost any opposition! (There were a few exceptions; but by definition exceptions rae exceptions!)

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 15:07 GMT

Though India are still struggling to zero in, on the best available bowling attack, full credit should be given to the new set of slectors, in trying their best to find out a decent enough pack! One of the things, they are testing out is laudable. That is, trying out the top performers from the domestic circuit. Iswar Pandey, for instance, seems to be trying his best to vindicate the selectors sincere attempt. Hope he succeeds; for his sake, the selectors' sake, and India's sake.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 13:52 GMT

The usual Indian problem has kicked in. Getting the top 5 batsmen out fast; and getting stuck into the bottom half... like a used chewing gum, getting semi-permanently stuck under the chair!

Srini_Indian
on August 19, 2013, 11:25 GMT

Seems like some fans already throwing Vijay out of the team for Rohit. This is just crazy. If my memory serves right, Vijay was the leading run scorer in last test series played by India. There are fans who already predicting so and so will fail in SA, so this guy and that guy should be included. This is 3 months before the start of tour. For God's sake, can we just enjoy a thorough clinical performance from India A, so far? I hope whoever gets selected to SA tour, do well. Best of luck, boys!!

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 10:59 GMT

Both Duminy & Ontong had represented South Africa as part of their national team. So, we can expect a slow and steady fightback. Considering that (1) the total they are facing is formidable, and (2) this is more of 'auditioning' for membership in the respective Test Teams, it will be interesting to see how the two batsmen will grind it out and how Indian bowlers will face that kind of a challenge (which is also a valuable experience)

spiritwithin
on August 19, 2013, 10:46 GMT

@ GRVJPR,how is Pujara overarated when he's doing well in few number of tests which he got?nobody's calling him the next big thing so 'overrate' is word used by you to make your point..as far as playing abroad is concerned then Pujara played just 2tests away from india,how can you judge anybody with just two tests?whereas Raina cant even handle Pacers at home atleast Pujara can do that..lastly since when Raina won more matches for india in tests than Pujara??if you are referring to ODI's then the present match is not an ODI..its not for nothing that Raina is a test discard and Pujara already has more tests than Raina.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 10:46 GMT

GREAT bowling INDIA A side. SA a team reeling at 119 for 5 after india post 582/9 declared . indian team should defeat south africa in south africa if they have to regain the top rankings in icc charts i the next year. it take india very near or above sa if they win the test series convincingly in sa later this year. good going pujara and rohit. well deserved centuries as does raina.

GRVJPR
on August 19, 2013, 10:22 GMT

@ realfan Mr realfan, raina couldn't even handle likes of finn in home conditions. As fasr as Pujara is concerned, we saw how he freezed on last tour to South Africa. Pujara is only succesful in India only. Raina was not given that opportunity in India on flat pitches at top of order. If this pitch is flat, then pujara has also score run on a flat pitch. Don't single out Raina. Between Raina has won more matches for India than so called Great, overrated PUJARA.

GRVJPR
on August 19, 2013, 10:15 GMT

Now where are those who were trying to take a gloss of Raina's inning saying it is a flat track. Home team is strugglins against a so called , two bowlers less, bowling side. Please show some guts and say sorry!

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 9:16 GMT

ICC has to change the "A" team selection criteria. If a player has represented respective national team he should be ineligible for "A" team selection. "A" teams should target only fringe & future budding players. Only then Cricket boards' would refrain from treating it as practice matches at the expense of future talents.

Although this game is only a class-A game, Rohit will put his detractors at bay for a while with this century. Judging by the number of balls he faced ( well over 200) this guy is putting in the effort to make the test squad. He has already done a lot of work in the ODI team. Most of the recent ODI's victories are partially due to him. Raina, Vijay and Pujara must also be commended for their part and together with Dhawan, Kohli are giving selection headaches. In the bowling department the spinners are doing well - I would not be surprised to see a fit ZAKS in the SA test tour. Pujara is learning the captaincy ropes and could quite possibly be a future vice captain under Kholi.

Chaitanyareddy90
on August 19, 2013, 6:31 GMT

My eleven for south africa 1.shikar 2.rohit 3.pujara 4.sachin 5.kohli 6.dhoni 7.rayudu or misra 8.ashwin 9.ishanth 10.umesh 11.mohit or best bowling performer in souti afrika-A tour. i think raina and jaddu strugled on bouncy pitches. Misra also good batter and he already proven in england tour.

manav08
on August 19, 2013, 6:20 GMT

The way our new brigade is turning the table is surely being given Hats off !! What is soothing to see that those young bowlers who were once cricised are now being given due respect in these batmen friendly flat pitches.Nadeem has been emerged as the pick of the bowler in the one day series and i would love to see him bowling in the test match .undkat and shafi is also doing decent job for the team.their performance give us the idea as how these young guns have a fire in their belly and trying hard to getvplaced in the senior x1.nice job guys and best of luck

realfan
on August 19, 2013, 6:01 GMT

so, this comes back to usual... raina will be again given chance in tests for another 20 matches.... by the time they agaion realises he is not for tests... people like rahane, rohit will be nearing to 30's and they ignore them just like bhadrinath was ignored...
this selection team has been good so far.... hope they wont make any mistakes from now on.... especially in selecting a test team....

DineshKanwar
on August 19, 2013, 5:53 GMT

We would have Sikhar at #1, Pujara at #3, Sachin at #4, Kohli at #5. In India we could go with 5 batters with Dhoni coming #6 and Jaddu #7. In SA, we would need 6 batters for sure because Sten & Co. are going to blow top more often than not (not only top even whole XI, score like 45, 47 are not unheard of against this best attack). We sure will need that extra padding. So we have position #2 and #6 still to fill. Vijay at #2, I am sorry, is not gonna cut off. He is too susceptible to anything above 140 and here not only snakes will come at more than 140 they will do pretty much dance in air too on tunes of that snake charmer Dale Steyn. May be Rohit at #2, though I would loved to have him on #6. Even after having out best XI on the park, its not any guarantee that we can not be blown off but having any less will just ensure 0-3. If I am Dhoni or Indian selector, I would be having enough headache at the moment.

dummy4fb
on August 19, 2013, 5:14 GMT

A very good outing for the india A batsmen.Vitally as rohit said- facing as many balls as possible was important. Now that the batsmen have done the job, its up 2 the bowlers to force a result. Coming on to rohit, its good he's making genuine effort 2 present his case in longer format, which is long overdue given the class act he is. Hope v will see rohit in india colours in test cricket.

Srini_Indian
on August 19, 2013, 4:56 GMT

I hope India A picks up early wickets. Frankly, I don't see India A winning this match but bowling them out cheaply and make them follow on is itself a moral victory for our boys. Go India!

landl47
on August 19, 2013, 4:32 GMT

India has a good young side. Still a few gaps, but this side (containing the nucleus of the test batting side, minus Kohli) looks very promising.

South Africa, on the other hand, seem to have a sharp drop-off in quality below the test side. Their great players mask the fact that there's not much depth; look at their results recently when Kallis, Smith and Steyn haven't been playing. Kallis is close to retirement, Smith is beginning to suffer more injuries and now Steyn is in his 30s he'll have to be managed more carefully. I don't see adequate replacements for these guys- although admittedly finding a replacement for Kallis was always going to be impossible.

CricketFanIndUS
on August 19, 2013, 1:38 GMT

Well done Rohit and Raina, it was a good partnership. In a short time of playing together the two batsmen have had several good partnerships in ODIs and A team matches. The running between the wickets with these two is great (from what I saw in the ODIs).

CricketFanIndUS
on August 19, 2013, 1:06 GMT

Rohit saw two new balls through and ground it out. You need that in test cricket. Rohit displays his versatility by showing he can bat well in the longer formats as he does in limited over formats. Dravid ground it out many times for India, frustrated and tired the bowlers. His wicket was coveted for that reason. You also of course need some players in the team that can score quickly. Perhaps we have a player in Rohit who can do both and perhaps even in the same match as dictated by match situations. He said in May this year that he works very hard for those good looking shots of his and they do not come easy to him as some folks may believe that it is his talent. He has been trying hard for a test cap as you can tell from his interviews over the last 5 years. Many times he was passed over. Yet he grinds it out and waits patiently for his test cap. This is probably a very good time to select him, as we have several overseas trips coming up. He will be invaluable in SA and Australia.

ramz30380
on August 18, 2013, 23:03 GMT

The big boys of Indian Cricket have delivered. It was heartening to c Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma clicking. Now it makes it very interesting for the Senior Team selection committee, if DK also comes good in the next test - all three will be serious contenders for a test spot.

It would have been nice to c Nadeem making a half century, declaring when he had made a run-a-ball 46 was too harsh on the young man. They cud have given him another over to play with.....

Unadkat taking a wicket with the new ball is good for the team - he too can be in contention for the SA tour - Ishant needs to do something spl to retain his place in the side!

Nampally
on August 18, 2013, 22:59 GMT

Aided by 82 run partnership for the 10th wkt. @ nearly 6 runs/over, Pujara was able to declare the innings giving Indian bowlers enough time to dismiss the SA opener Hendricks. Contrary to all predictions, the Wkt. was flat as a pancake. India aided by 3 centuries from Pujara, Sharma & Raina put up a mammoth total of 582 with 2 full days of play left. Indian #10 & #11 batsmen confirmed the Rustenburg pitch was a batting paradise like the one in Pretoria. However India has to bowl on the same abrasive field, possibly for the next 2 days. SA has a strong batting line up too. Unless the batsmen get out making mistakes, this match is heading for a draw. Sharma & Raina have staked their claims for the Test squad to visit SA in December. If the flat pitch is weather related, it may have been better to postpone the matches by 6 weeks, to give more sporting conditions. It is sad to see such docile batting pitches, enough to break the hearts of all bowler & assess their true capabilities.

josphe
on August 18, 2013, 22:41 GMT

Good to see Rohit making the most of this opportunity and proving that this is the format of the game that he is best suited for..I hope this knock from Raina does not fool the Indian selectors to believe that he is test quality..He has had enough chances to prove himself at test level and only has an average of 28 after 17 test..He doesn't have the technique to survive in the test arena and if he is chosen to play against south africa, he simply wont succeed...I am left to wonder how he made his test debut ahead of the likes of Rohit and Rahane who both have an average of 60 at first class level, compared to Raina's mere 42. But all in all a good outing by the A squad i must say..I guess only after the other team bats we can see how flat the surface is, or if the Indian boys batted that well.

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 20:53 GMT

Well played Rohit and Raina. Specially Rohit. He is showing the most important factor what people often says about consistency. Since Jan 2013 he is amongst the runs. Now he is a strongest contender for test spot. After all hard work and facing hard critics he deserves test selection. But the next test is still away in Nov. till then there are some international schedule is there . Aussies are coming in India for ODIs & T20s. Plus some domestic season is also there. Rohit need to make use of al these matches. Should consistent enough as one or two failure can change the swing to opposite way for Rohit. Rohit should be knowing this as just in last Zimbabwe tour when he failed to score runs in first 3 ODIs people started critising again though he had successfull CT & WI tri series. Anyhow Rohit manages to score 65 notout in 4th ODI and survived from more critics. He is rightly on path now. Should carry his form till Nov. test spot is waiting for him. All the best Rohit !!!

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 20:41 GMT

I hope this doesn't get Raina back into contention. This selection committee has been wise, i hope they stay that way.

Raina is alway going to be a failure in tests with this inability against bouncing/moving balls.

Cricinbest
on August 18, 2013, 19:17 GMT

Is this the Indian A team or the Indian team? I can't see any difference.

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 19:15 GMT

How come you are showing picture from India and Zimbabwe ODI game? The title suggests that the picture is from India A and SF A game.

landl47
on August 19, 2013, 4:32 GMT

India has a good young side. Still a few gaps, but this side (containing the nucleus of the test batting side, minus Kohli) looks very promising.

South Africa, on the other hand, seem to have a sharp drop-off in quality below the test side. Their great players mask the fact that there's not much depth; look at their results recently when Kallis, Smith and Steyn haven't been playing. Kallis is close to retirement, Smith is beginning to suffer more injuries and now Steyn is in his 30s he'll have to be managed more carefully. I don't see adequate replacements for these guys- although admittedly finding a replacement for Kallis was always going to be impossible.

CricketFanIndUS
on August 19, 2013, 1:06 GMT

Rohit saw two new balls through and ground it out. You need that in test cricket. Rohit displays his versatility by showing he can bat well in the longer formats as he does in limited over formats. Dravid ground it out many times for India, frustrated and tired the bowlers. His wicket was coveted for that reason. You also of course need some players in the team that can score quickly. Perhaps we have a player in Rohit who can do both and perhaps even in the same match as dictated by match situations. He said in May this year that he works very hard for those good looking shots of his and they do not come easy to him as some folks may believe that it is his talent. He has been trying hard for a test cap as you can tell from his interviews over the last 5 years. Many times he was passed over. Yet he grinds it out and waits patiently for his test cap. This is probably a very good time to select him, as we have several overseas trips coming up. He will be invaluable in SA and Australia.

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 19:15 GMT

How come you are showing picture from India and Zimbabwe ODI game? The title suggests that the picture is from India A and SF A game.

Cricinbest
on August 18, 2013, 19:17 GMT

Is this the Indian A team or the Indian team? I can't see any difference.

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 20:41 GMT

I hope this doesn't get Raina back into contention. This selection committee has been wise, i hope they stay that way.

Raina is alway going to be a failure in tests with this inability against bouncing/moving balls.

dummy4fb
on August 18, 2013, 20:53 GMT

Well played Rohit and Raina. Specially Rohit. He is showing the most important factor what people often says about consistency. Since Jan 2013 he is amongst the runs. Now he is a strongest contender for test spot. After all hard work and facing hard critics he deserves test selection. But the next test is still away in Nov. till then there are some international schedule is there . Aussies are coming in India for ODIs & T20s. Plus some domestic season is also there. Rohit need to make use of al these matches. Should consistent enough as one or two failure can change the swing to opposite way for Rohit. Rohit should be knowing this as just in last Zimbabwe tour when he failed to score runs in first 3 ODIs people started critising again though he had successfull CT & WI tri series. Anyhow Rohit manages to score 65 notout in 4th ODI and survived from more critics. He is rightly on path now. Should carry his form till Nov. test spot is waiting for him. All the best Rohit !!!

josphe
on August 18, 2013, 22:41 GMT

Good to see Rohit making the most of this opportunity and proving that this is the format of the game that he is best suited for..I hope this knock from Raina does not fool the Indian selectors to believe that he is test quality..He has had enough chances to prove himself at test level and only has an average of 28 after 17 test..He doesn't have the technique to survive in the test arena and if he is chosen to play against south africa, he simply wont succeed...I am left to wonder how he made his test debut ahead of the likes of Rohit and Rahane who both have an average of 60 at first class level, compared to Raina's mere 42. But all in all a good outing by the A squad i must say..I guess only after the other team bats we can see how flat the surface is, or if the Indian boys batted that well.

Nampally
on August 18, 2013, 22:59 GMT

Aided by 82 run partnership for the 10th wkt. @ nearly 6 runs/over, Pujara was able to declare the innings giving Indian bowlers enough time to dismiss the SA opener Hendricks. Contrary to all predictions, the Wkt. was flat as a pancake. India aided by 3 centuries from Pujara, Sharma & Raina put up a mammoth total of 582 with 2 full days of play left. Indian #10 & #11 batsmen confirmed the Rustenburg pitch was a batting paradise like the one in Pretoria. However India has to bowl on the same abrasive field, possibly for the next 2 days. SA has a strong batting line up too. Unless the batsmen get out making mistakes, this match is heading for a draw. Sharma & Raina have staked their claims for the Test squad to visit SA in December. If the flat pitch is weather related, it may have been better to postpone the matches by 6 weeks, to give more sporting conditions. It is sad to see such docile batting pitches, enough to break the hearts of all bowler & assess their true capabilities.

ramz30380
on August 18, 2013, 23:03 GMT

The big boys of Indian Cricket have delivered. It was heartening to c Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma clicking. Now it makes it very interesting for the Senior Team selection committee, if DK also comes good in the next test - all three will be serious contenders for a test spot.

It would have been nice to c Nadeem making a half century, declaring when he had made a run-a-ball 46 was too harsh on the young man. They cud have given him another over to play with.....

Unadkat taking a wicket with the new ball is good for the team - he too can be in contention for the SA tour - Ishant needs to do something spl to retain his place in the side!

CricketFanIndUS
on August 19, 2013, 1:06 GMT

Rohit saw two new balls through and ground it out. You need that in test cricket. Rohit displays his versatility by showing he can bat well in the longer formats as he does in limited over formats. Dravid ground it out many times for India, frustrated and tired the bowlers. His wicket was coveted for that reason. You also of course need some players in the team that can score quickly. Perhaps we have a player in Rohit who can do both and perhaps even in the same match as dictated by match situations. He said in May this year that he works very hard for those good looking shots of his and they do not come easy to him as some folks may believe that it is his talent. He has been trying hard for a test cap as you can tell from his interviews over the last 5 years. Many times he was passed over. Yet he grinds it out and waits patiently for his test cap. This is probably a very good time to select him, as we have several overseas trips coming up. He will be invaluable in SA and Australia.

CricketFanIndUS
on August 19, 2013, 1:38 GMT

Well done Rohit and Raina, it was a good partnership. In a short time of playing together the two batsmen have had several good partnerships in ODIs and A team matches. The running between the wickets with these two is great (from what I saw in the ODIs).

landl47
on August 19, 2013, 4:32 GMT

India has a good young side. Still a few gaps, but this side (containing the nucleus of the test batting side, minus Kohli) looks very promising.

South Africa, on the other hand, seem to have a sharp drop-off in quality below the test side. Their great players mask the fact that there's not much depth; look at their results recently when Kallis, Smith and Steyn haven't been playing. Kallis is close to retirement, Smith is beginning to suffer more injuries and now Steyn is in his 30s he'll have to be managed more carefully. I don't see adequate replacements for these guys- although admittedly finding a replacement for Kallis was always going to be impossible.